Are we really all united in our hatred?

Viet Nam News By Paul Kennedy It’s through gritted teeth and while in great pain I am going to admit the following. Manchester United is a very good football club. There, I’ve said it. Being from Liverpool it is part of my DNA to hate all things Red Devil. The rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United is as intense as any in football. Inter/AC Milan, Celtic/Rangers, Boca Juniors/River Plate. All great games, great teams and great rivals, but there’s something about the match between the two teams from the North West of England that puts it head and shoulders above the rest. For large chunks of the 1970s and 1980s Liverpool were the top team in England and Europe, then along came a tough-talking, no-nonsense Scot by the name of Alex Ferguson. He vowed to “knock Liverpool off its perch,” and he did. United won 38 trophies under Ferguson between 1986 and 2013. There’s a stand named after him at Old Trafford and a statue in his honour outside the ground. Over and over again he built winning teams from scratch. Sure, he spent a few quid and made the odd mistake along the way, but United were undoubtedly for long periods of time the greatest football club in the world. Eric Cantona summed it up best for me when he said: “You may find another Beckham or Ronaldo, but never, ever will you find another Sir Alex Ferguson.” And that is essentially Manchester United’s problem today. They thought they… [Read full story]